Process of picking and separating cotton from bolls.



J. MEIER. PROCESS OF PICKING AND SEPARATING COTTON FROM BOLLS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-5,1914.

Patented July 1 atfocnug COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH co., WASHINGTON. D. C

JOHN MEIER, or DALLAS, TEXAS.

PROCESS OF PICKING AND SEPARATING COTTON FROM BULLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July is, 1915.

Application filed August 5, 1914. Serial No. 855,253.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN MEIER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful 1mprovements in Processes of Picking and Separating Cotton from Bolls; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful process in picking cotton and separating the same from the burs and consists essentially in causing the cotton in the boll to be driven by pneumatic suction through a fan casing and driven violently by a; rotatable fan wheel against baffle pegs or projections on the concaved wall of a passageway, gradually increasing in capacity from its inlet to its exit end, the burs of the boll being thrown violently against the bafile projections, causing the same to break and allowing all of the fiber of the cotton to be removed from the particles of the boll.

The present method consists further in the provision of various steps in the treatment of the fiber and bur whereby the burs may be separated automatically from the fiber by gravity as the fiber and the burs are drawn away from the passageway leading through the fan casing.

In the drawings I have illustrated an apparatus whereby the steps of my method may be carried out and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a fan casing and pneumatic passageways communicating therewith, parts being shown in elevation, and Fig. 2 is a detail in section showing a slight modification of the apparatus.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a casing in the opposite walls of which a fan wheel B is journaled, having a series of radial wings C about the circumference thereof, said fan being adapted to be driven by any suitable motive power, not shown, and designed to produce a suction to draw the cotton and bolls containing the same into casing. The pipe G communicates with the inlet to the casing and which is provided with a cylindrical shell G having a handle G and G designates a bulging chamber havlng a circular-outlined cutting blade J, secured to the flanged end thereof and which 1S adapted to sever the head of cotton from the stalk. preferably of metal and having flanges 0 along the marginal edges to reinforce the blade and which blades are securely held in place by bolts or other means.

A series of baflie pegs D, preferably curved away from the line of suction through the passageway in the casing, project from the inner concaved wall of the casing and against which the cotton bolls are adapted to be driven by pneumatic suction within the casing and also by the blades of the fan wheel which throw the heads of the cotton against the converted edges of said baflie pegs with sufficient force to cause the cotton bolls to disintegrate and to separate the fiber and the burs of the bolls being heavier than the cotton fiber to settle by gravity upon the lower edge of the fan casing as they are drawn forward with the Each blade of the fan is made cotton fiber which has been separated therefrom and in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

It will be noted that the passageway through which the cotton passes in somewhat constricted near the entrance to the casing adjacent to the end of the series of the baflie pegs but increases in capacity toward the exit end of the casing, the fan wheel being mounted eccentrically relative to the casing, the increasing size of the pas sageway being to reduce to a minimum the possibility of the same being obstructed by the material as it passes through the same.

Communicating with the exit end of the casing is a passageway H, set preferably at an angle, and through which the cotton and the burs forming part of the bolls and from which the cotton fiber has been separated are drawn by pneumatic suction to any suitable location. lIn the drawings, said pipe is shown as communicating with a downwardly turned pipe K which is adapted to convey the fiber into a bag N, or other receptacle. Leading from said inclined passageway is a pipe 0, having its point of communication with the inclined pipe upon the lower portion thereof, so that the burs, which are designated by letter T, may by gravity fall into said pipe and make exit at any suitable location.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings, I have shown a slight modification of my invention in which a spiral or worm conveyer S is journaled in a cylindrical trough S, which communicates throu' h an enin' S with 1 of the drawings. As the present invention consists, however, in the process of treating the cotton in the boll as the latter is cut I from the stalk, any particular detailed construction of apparatus for carrying out the steps of the process are not deemed essential, as these obviously may vary in many ways. In operation, the cotton and boll in which the same is mounted are severed in any suitably manner from the stalk, as by means of a knife J. The pneumatic suction produced from the fan causes the cotton still in the boll to be drawn through the shell G and the pipes G and into the fan casing where the stronger pneumatic suction will throw the cotton still in the boll violently against the bafile pegs, the latter being curved away from the line of travel of the cotton in order that the latter will not catch upon the pointed ends thereof. The cotton bolls coming against the bafiie pegs with stronger force will cause the same to disintegrate and the burs being heavier than the cotton fiber will fall in the manner shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings to the lower part of the easing, both the burs and the cotton fiber being deposited in the direction indicated by arrows by the suction force, the burs being sepc'opies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the arated from the cotton as they fall into the pipe 0 or through into the trough S, accordingly as either of the forms of apparatus may be employed, while the cotton, being lighter than the burs, will be carried to and deposited in the bag or receptacle N, entirely free of the burs.

By the provision of a method embodying the features of my invention, in which the whole head of the cotton including the boll and fiber still adhering thereto, is severed from the stalk and acted upon violently by the apparatus shown, I have found that all of the fiber is readily separated from the burs, thus entailing a considerable amount of saving over the removal of the cotton by hand or otherwise from the bolls.

What I claim to be new is:

A process of separating cotton from its burs consisting in causing bodily the bur with the cotton still attached thereto to be detached from the stem of the plant and driven forcibly by pneumatic means against a roughened convex surface separating the fiber from the burs by attrition between said surface and a revolving element, causing further downward movement of the burs and fiber by the combined action of the blast and revolving element and separating the burs from the fiber by action of gravity during such movement, and finally depositing the fiber and burs in separate receptacles.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, J OI-IN MEIER.

Witnesses:

A. L. HoUGH, A. R. FOWLER.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

